Monoclonal Antibodies and Antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 Reduce the Risk of Long COVID: A Retrospective Propensity Score-Matched Case–Control Study
Antonio Cimellaro,
Desirée Addesi,
Michela Cavallo,
Francesco Spagnolo,
Edoardo Suraci,
Raffaella Cordaro,
Ines Spinelli,
Francesco Passafaro,
Manuela Colosimo,
Medea Pintaudi,
Carmelo Pintaudi,
on behalf of the CATAnzaro LOng COVID (CATALOCO) Study Group
Affiliations
Antonio Cimellaro
Internal Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine, “Pugliese-Ciaccio” Hospital of Catanzaro, Via Pio X n.83, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Desirée Addesi
Internal Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine, “Pugliese-Ciaccio” Hospital of Catanzaro, Via Pio X n.83, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Michela Cavallo
Internal Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine, “Pugliese-Ciaccio” Hospital of Catanzaro, Via Pio X n.83, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Francesco Spagnolo
Internal Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine, “Pugliese-Ciaccio” Hospital of Catanzaro, Via Pio X n.83, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Edoardo Suraci
Internal Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine, “Pugliese-Ciaccio” Hospital of Catanzaro, Via Pio X n.83, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Raffaella Cordaro
Internal Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine, “Pugliese-Ciaccio” Hospital of Catanzaro, Via Pio X n.83, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Ines Spinelli
Internal Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine, “Pugliese-Ciaccio” Hospital of Catanzaro, Via Pio X n.83, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Francesco Passafaro
Coordination of Special Unit of Continuity Care for Local Health Authority, Via Vinicio Cortese n.25, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Manuela Colosimo
Microbiology and Virology Unit, Service Department, “Pugliese-Ciaccio” Hospital of Catanzaro, Via Pio X n.83, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Medea Pintaudi
Neurophysiology and Neurobiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo n.200, 00128 Rome, Italy
Carmelo Pintaudi
Internal Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine, “Pugliese-Ciaccio” Hospital of Catanzaro, Via Pio X n.83, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
on behalf of the CATAnzaro LOng COVID (CATALOCO) Study Group
Long COVID is a complex condition affecting quality of life, with limited therapeutic options. We investigated the occurrence of long COVID in subjects receiving early therapy with monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) or antivirals to reduce the risk of COVID-19 progression. In this retrospective study we enrolled 737 adult patients (aged 65.16 ± 13.46; 361F), who experienced COVID-19 between January 2021 and March 2022. Antiviral or mAbs were administered to symptomatic patients who did not require oxygen therapy or hospital admission for SARS-CoV-2 infection, and who were at high risk of progression to severe disease, as identified by age > 65 years or the presence of comorbidities. Long COVID, defined as newly or persistent long-term symptoms 4 weeks after the onset of the acute illness, was reported in 204 cases (28%). Age (OR 1.03; p p p = 0.049) were directly associated with long COVID; conversely, vaccination (OR 0.59; p = 0.005) and mAbs/antivirals (OR 0.44; p = 0.002) were independently associated with a reduced risk of long COVID. At a propensity-score-matched analysis, the mAbs/antivirals group had a significantly lower occurrence of long COVID in comparison with untreated controls (11% vs. 34%; p = 0.001). In conclusion, mAbs and antivirals administered against the progression of COVID-19 were associated with a reduced risk of long COVID.
